Obama administration to cut billions from Pentagon budget; More than 700 die in Chinese landslide, millions displaced by flooding; 1200 civilians killed in Afghanistan so far this year; Hezbollah blames Israel for al-Hariri assassination; and more

Top of the Agenda: Gates Seeks Cuts at Pentagon

US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced plans to close a military command, restrict the use of outside contractors, and reduce the number of generals and admirals across the armed forces as part of a broad effort to rein in Pentagon spending (NYT). The cuts are part of his previously announced plan to cut $100 billion over five years from some areas of the Pentagon budget. The planned cuts, in an attempt to stave off deeper cuts by Congress, will not reduce (WSJ) the defense department's overall budget, but will be used to fund future weapons-modernization programs, with the aim of ensuring that future budgets increase only modestly.

The Pentagon's total budget, including war costs, is projected to top $700 billion next year. One of Gates's proposals is to close the military's Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, VA, which employs six thousand people, half of them contractors. The command was created a decade ago and is charged with new training and getting the military services to work more closely together. Gates says much of that already has been achieved (NPR). In a statement of support for Gates's plan, President Barack Obama said the cuts would "help us sustain the current force structure (WashPost) and make needed investments in modernization in a fiscally responsible way."

Analysis

In his latest blog entry for Commentary magazine, CFR Senior Fellow Max Boot warns against cutting defense spending in wartime. He adds: "We should be careful about dumping the burden of 'deficit cutting' onto the Department of Defense while ignoring the budget items actually responsible for most federal spending."

Andrew Exum, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, expresses dismay that the Joint Forces of Command will be shut down.

In Foreign Affairs, Gates outlines the future of U.S. security assistance, saying in the future, the greatest threats to the United States are likely to come from states that cannot adequately govern themselves or secure their own territory.

Background

Read the transcript of Gates' press conference outlining the spending cuts here.

 

PACIFIC RIM: China's Landslide Death Toll Rises

More than seven hundred people have died (BBC) in a massive landslide in northwest Gansu province, and over one thousand people are still missing. The landslide came as China was struggling with its worst flooding in a decade, with more than 2,100 people reported dead or missing and millions displaced nationwide.

North Korea: North Korea fired over one hundred rounds of artillery (ChosunIlbo) near its disputed sea border with South Korea on Monday, shortly after the conclusion of a massive South Korean military drill. The provocation came a day after the North seized a South Korean fishing boat and its seven-member crew, which is believed to have entered the North's exclusive economic zone.

 

ELSEWHERE:

- Sharp Rise in Afghan Civilian Toll
- Hezbollah Leader Reveals Hariri 'Proof'

 

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org